


prickle

by freedomphoenix



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Dystopia, How Do I Tag, Inventors, M/M, Magic, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Post-Nuclear War, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Technology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-23 06:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freedomphoenix/pseuds/freedomphoenix
Summary: Shoma’s father's dragonstone had been fashioned into a beautiful work of dragon runes and metalwork. Shoma allowed his magic to resonate with the piece, marveling at how the piece adjusted to his body accordingly. The dragonstone fragments interspersed throughout the armor glowed brilliant, pulsing red before settling to a subtler color. Daisuke reached into his pocket and Shoma’s eyes immediately identified his mother’s magic woven into the delicate metal headpiece. Daisuke places it on Shoma’s head and Shoma feels a shiver go through him, fairy magic was distinctly different from dragon magic. “You’re ready to carry both of your parents with you now.”or the story set post-nuclear war with animal/mythical creature hybrids that nobody asked for





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another long-ass chaptered fic. This is much more similar to some of my original writing. I plan for this to be longer than Ethereal, but who knows. I'm universe building in this one so I don't really know how to tag this. This is way more complex(?) than some of my other fics, so feel free to ask questions. I will either answer them in the comment section or in the next chapters. The title will also most likely be changed or will have nothing to do with the story.

If Shoma was a flower he would consider himself a cactus flower. He needed time and the right conditions to bloom. Shoma vaguely remembered his grandfather telling him how cactus flowers were an indication beauty would continue even after the devastation of nuclear warfare. He had said something about the fate of creature kind finally looking up, that if some of the most temperamental flowers could bloom after everything that had been done to Earth, everything would be okay. In a cruel twist of fate Shoma’s grandfather was wounded by a nuclear bomb he had intercepted to protect a newly emerging forest. He eventually succumbed to his wounds, much too old to heal himself and Shoma’s magic not nearly strong enough to address the severity of his grandfather’s wounds. Shoma absently sketched a rendition of a cactus flower and promptly closed his notebook. He would stick to his sketches of mechanical parts, for now, flowers were a little too sentimental for him.

Shoma nudged Ni, his automated dragon to life. Shoma’s grandfather’s dragonstone was nestled in its chest, something of Shoma’s own design. Dragonstones held all of a dragon’s emotions over a lifetime, giving it insurmountable power. A dragon before they died would produce their dragonstone; to the untrained eye, it would appear to be a fist-sized gemstone. Magical creatures, however, were immediately able to identify the powerful magical signature emitted from dragonstones, only those with dragon blood could tap into its power; without dragon blood, the dragonstone would be nothing more than a pretty gemstone. Shoma was extremely close to his grandfather who took him in after his parents passed away. Shoma modeled Ni after his grandfather, utilizing the various sketches he had. He had spent years sketching his grandfather’s majestic dragon form on paper, his grandfather, an artist at heart, insisted Shoma sketched on paper before 3D modeling. Once Shoma took up 3D modeling his inventions were distinguishable by their more artistic, detailed design, often mimicking the fluid, powerful movements of a dragon.

He engineered Ni with a variety of protective mechanisms, enchanting him with fairy magic, layering dragon runes, and programming some of his most complex algorithms. It was the last remnant of his grandfather he had. After Shoma’s grandfather died he was taken in by Daisuke, the powerful young dragon his grandfather trusted to watch and train Shoma. Shoma’s grandfather’s things had to be stored away for safekeeping. There was too much of a risk that his research and inventions would be taken by the government to be further exploited for military purpose. Shoma was too young to be able to understand and fight the legal battle for his grandfather’s things so Daisuke had a trusted acquaintance hide them away until Shoma was old enough to own everything. As far as the government was concerned his grandfather’s things were burned along with Shoma’s grandfather’s body in the natural cremation process of a dragon’s body.

“Shoma come downstairs and help me unload Keiji’s haul from the junkyard,” said Mao from the kitchen, interrupting Shoma’s reminiscing. Shoma removed his glasses and allowed his eyes to adjust to seeing in high definition. Shoma had inherited both of his parent’s magical eyes, allowing him to see magic in ways people could only dream of. He wore glasses to dampen his sight so he could focus on mundane tasks. Ni followed Shoma down the stairs and into the living room to see what Keiji had brought back. Keiji is sorting through a bag of mechanical parts while Mao sits beside him sorting out the trash.

“Shooms look what I got,” said Keiji throwing a hybrid nuclear-biofuel engine at him. Shoma catches it with one hand and allows his eyes to analyze the specs of the engine. Shoma grins, he would just need to make some minor adjustments, enhance it with some magic of his own and it would be good to go.

“This is a beauty, how much did you have to pay for it?”

“This thing came with the trash pile, so it was practically free. I looked for the specific magical signature like you asked me to. The glasses you gave me helped a bunch. I don’t understand how people see like this all the time. It gives me a headache to see that sheer amount of magic floating around in so many different forms. I like just seeing my own type of magic, dragon runes are a headache to look at. Anway, the seller said that all this stuff was useless nuclear tech that they scavenged up from an old encampment pre-city establishment.”

“Dragon runes are too refined for someone like you to understand. And it isn’t my fault you don’t see magic the way some of us do,” said Shoma sassily.

Keiji rolled his eyes, “My kind like simple things and sometimes those things work better than your high tech floaty floaty things.”

“My high tech ‘floaty floaty’ things are what allowed you to bring all this stuff here,” said Shoma sticking his tongue out.

“Alright children settle down, we all know witches are better,” said Mao teasingly.

“What is this about witches being the best. We all know dragons are the best,” said Daisuke.

“The old man decided to roll in,” said Mao jokingly. Mao stands up from her sorting and gives Daisuke a hug, an affectionate smile on her face.

“Daisuke!” exclaimed Shoma. He practically bounded over to Daisuke, Ni faithfully following along.

“You’re one to speak,” said Daisuke sitting at their counter. He ruffled Shoma’s hair and brought him in for a tight hug, “How’s my favorite dragon doing?” asked Daisuke.

“Good, I have some things to show you if you have time,” said Shoma, adoration in his eyes.

“Of course Sho,” said Daisuke. Shoma smiled brightly and practically dashed away to his room to get some of his newest inventions.

“You’d think you invented the world or something,” said Mao wiping off her hands. “Do you want something to drink? You weren’t supposed to be back for a week or so.”

“The upcoming visit made me return faster. I wanted to check out some of the new magically enhanced inventions, especially because some important people from the West are coming,” said Daisuke. His face was contemplative. Mao shared a look with Daisuke before he shook his head, indicating they would talk later.

“I still can’t believe he isn’t a dog hybrid,” said Keiji, still bent over his mechanical parts. “I heard that Brian was coming with his usual crew and some other people from North America.”

Daisuke chuckled, “Well I’m glad he still looks up to me, I can’t believe how much he’s grown. Speaking of Brian, Yuzuru has already surpassed me and Shoma will soon follow suit. All of these kids will, the future of our world is in their hands now.”

“Stop being so dramatic old man, they still need people like us to hold down the fort while they go off fighting and changing the world,” said Mao. “Besides Shoma still has a little bit more to grow, he still falls asleep and gets caught up in playing games and programming after training. He stays up way too late.”

“He’s a young man now Mao, you worry too much about him. He can take care of himself. Who knows maybe he’ll eventually decide to spread his wings and fly off to train elsewhere like Yuzuru.”

“Oh, that reminds me. Mihoko told me the fact Brian’s crew was coming was to be kept a secret from Shoma.”

“He can’t find that out from his high tech devices?”

“He can but he doesn’t bother, he only shows up to these events to do what he needs to do.”

“Look at this Daisuke,” said Shoma practically jumping halfway down the stairs with six different inventions bundled in his arms. Ni has a small one carefully clutched in his jaws. “Here I used biofuel to power the rotor—”

* * *

“Haven’t been home in a while,” said Yuzuru stretching out his legs. Javier sat next to him, a shot glass in hand.

“Want some? The ladies over there told me it was good, at least that’s what the translation piece said. If it’s wrong I’m going to have to ask Vincent to tweak it again,” said Javier offering Yuzuru the clear liquid in his glass. Yuzuru takes one sniff and grins.

“The ladies didn’t lie, that’s some high-quality sake,” said Yuzuru. “I’m okay, I don’t really drink that much before these kinds of things.”

“Suit yourself,” said Javier taking a sip of the rice wine and grinning at its potency. “Not bad, not nearly as strong as the stuff they make back home.”

“Not everyone is descended from horses Javi,” said Yuzuru. Javier snorted at that and got back up to get a larger glass, something that would actually at least give him a pleasant warmth.

“So I’ve been notified that everyone will be officially convening tomorrow morning but there’s the mandatory welcoming party first,” said Brian sitting across from Yuzuru.

“A party? Does that mean I get to let the rest of my appendages breathe?” asked Yuzuru, excited.

“You should if you’d like to,” said Brian, “everyone usually likes to show off at these events. It’s not often we get to let our magic out completely without fear of being hunted down or regulated.”

“We have to wear those things?” asked Nathan joining the conversation. “Why can’t we stick to functionality, my wings are cumbersome in small spaces.”

“That’s not our problem,” said Vincent. “I like having my tails out.”

“I think everyone who has a tail likes having it out,” said Alex.

“Must be nice,” said Nathan, “it seems like all I got from my tiger side was aggression.”

Vincent wraps an arm around Nathan, “Aw, you don’t want to dragon-round your wings?” Alex and Yuzuru laugh at the joke giving Vincent a thumbs up. Nathan good-naturedly rolls his eyes at the joke.

* * *

“Shoma let me at least comb your hair,” said Mao as Shoma got ready for the party. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt and black slacks, formal enough in Shoma’s eyes but not in Mao’s. She had promptly told him that he looked boring and suggested adding some of her own enchantments to spice up Shoma’s look.

“I think I look fine. Besides Mihoko said it was another welcoming party, who cares what I look like at those,” said Shoma.

“I care,” said Mao finally managing to get her hands on Shoma’s hair. “Just sit still and let me do my work if you don’t care.” Shoma sighed and nodded his head, letting Mao do as she liked. Mao chanted the familiar spells for changing visual appearances and waved her wand. Shoma felt the telltale tingle of witch’s magic and the settling of the spell into his body.

She showed him his appearance and he had to admit Mao did well. He looked less like he ran on 3 hours of sleep and more like 10. He also looked older for once, his face looked closer to his age rather than 13. She had slicked back his hair and retouched the coloring spell she had done on him as practice last summer. Mao liked to give him highlights, she said it made him look more hip. Shoma figured the actual reason she did it to him was that he didn’t complain and she could practice appearance spells on someone other than herself.

“You’re all grown up now Shoma,” said Daisuke leaning against the door frame, “your grandfather would be proud of the man you’re becoming.” Daisuke enters the room, Shoma’s father’s armor in hand. “You’re missing something though, one last touch.” Shoma’s father's dragonstone had been fashioned into a beautiful work of dragon runes and metalwork. The armor itself was almost alive in the way it resembled wild growing vines; the seamless programming ensured the armor’s functionality would not detract from its beauty. Shoma lifted his arms to give Daisuke space to fasten it on top of Shoma’s shirt. Shoma allowed his magic to resonate with the piece, marveling at how the piece adjusted to his body accordingly. The dragonstone fragments interspersed throughout the armor glowed brilliant, pulsing red before settling to a subtler color. Daisuke reached into his pocket and Shoma’s eyes immediately identified his mother’s magic woven into the delicate metal headpiece. Daisuke places it on Shoma’s head and Shoma feels a shiver go through him, fairy magic was distinctly different from dragon magic. “You’re ready to carry both of your parents with you now.”

“Thank you Daisuke,” said Shoma in awe.

“These have always been yours to have kiddo,” said Daisuke.

“Go get ‘em Shooms,” said Mao patting Shoma’s butt. Shoma laughed and handed Ni to Mao.

“I figured it would be better for him to hang out here so you don’t get too lonely,” said Shoma. “But since Daisuke is here I guess you won’t need him.”

“I’ll take good care of this guy and make sure he’s the one who doesn’t get too lonely. I can’t talk to Daisuke all night long, that would be awful,” said Mao scratching the dragon’s head. Ni’s wings vibrate in happiness.

“That’s mean,” said Daisuke.

Mao just rolls her eyes and pats Daisuke’s shoulder, “You’re strong, you’ll get over it. Is Keiji picking you up?”

“I’m taking my airbike there,” said Shoma.

“Do some tricks out there,” said Daisuke with a grin.

“Daisuke don’t tell him that. Be careful,” said Mao, “you know why.” Shoma nods his head and gets an affectionate hair ruffle.

* * *

“Is that Shoma Uno?” asked Keiji as he walked over to his best friend. Keiji’s jet black tengu wings were folded neatly on his back and his two oni horns poked out of his slicked back hair. He threw an arm around Shoma’s shoulders bringing him over to the table he had secured.

“Who else would it be doofus?” asked Shoma earning a laugh from Keiji.

“Shoma! You look extra handsome tonight. I can see Mao decided to work her magic on you since she can’t come,” said Nobunari, his tanuki ears twitching in excitement.

“Thank you Nobu,” said Shoma with a smile, “Mao was definitely disappointed she couldn’t come.”

“Shoma you look great, the armor and headpiece are amazing! Mao also did an excellent job with that subtle red accent for your makeup, matches everything perfectly,” said Satoko.

“Thank you Satton, the magic on your wings is beautiful. It compliments your dress wonderfully,” said Shoma. Satoko had her multi-colored pheasant wings enchanted with fairy magic making them glisten when they captured the light. It was a subtle, small fairy charm of Satoko’s own invention. Satoko smiled brightly at the compliment, happy her magic was noticed. Just as Shoma’s about to sit down he is ambushed by Wakaba and Evgenia. Both are fluttering with magic and excitement. They both had put extra effort into how they looked for the party. Wakaba’s fairy wings are flapping quickly almost making Shoma want to unfurl his own to allow them to breathe. Evgenia’s own butterfly wings were extended, enchanted similar to Satoko’s but instead with spells.

“Shoma you look so handsome tonight,” said Evgenia.

“You're finally embracing your inner party animal,” said Wakaba.

Shoma tilted his head, confused, “What do you mean?”

“You never wear a piece with dragonstone, much less armor to events like this. Also a crown? What made you decide to go all out tonight?”

“Daisuke gave it to me so I wore it,“ said Shoma matter of factly.

“Well it looks good, hoping to catch someone’s eye?” said Wakaba with a wink. Shoma just laughed and shook his head.

“You know me, I like to stick to programming and training,” said Shoma.

“Have some fun tonight, there are some good looking people out there and some of them are definitely eyeing you up,” said Evgenia with a wink. Shoma turns red, flustered, both of the girls wave goodbye before fluttering away.

“How are you always popular with the ladies?” asked Keiji.

“Because he’s approachable and doesn’t look like he could hurt a fly,” said Kaori as she sat down next to Shoma. Marin sat down gingerly next to Kaori, careful not to crush her newly growing wings.

“Kaori you look so grown-up, I can really see your charms improving,” complimented Shoma.

Kaori brightened up, “Thank you Shoma, it’s always nice to hear a compliment from someone else with fairy blood, especially someone with magical eyes as developed as yours.”

“Why are you being so nice tonight?” asked Keiji. “Is the real Shoma Uno in there?”

“Shut up Keiji I’m allowed to compliment people,” said Shoma, “for example, wow Keiji your hair looks less greasy for once. It’s almost like I can see non-grease magic on it.” Shoma gets pushed by Keiji as he bursts out into laughter.

“You’re such a rude little piece of shit,” said Keiji. “I’m going to get something to drink want anything?”

“Water?” said Shoma.

“Got it, anyone else want anything?” asked Keiji. The rest of the table shook their head and Keiji left to get the drinks. Shoma turned to talk to Nobunari only to feel a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to be greeted by Sota. Shoma grinned widely and gave his friend a tight hug.

“You get taller every time I see you, must be that elf blood,” said Shoma.

“And you get shorter, that fairy blood doesn’t do you any favors,” said Sota. Shoma laughs and pokes Sota’s side in retaliation for the cheeky comment.

“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t due back from training until the end of the year,” said Shoma.

“You know why they need more of us than ever,” said Sota. Shoma’s face fell, deep down he knew why his young friend was back. “Let’s not talk about that though, come with me to dance on the roof.”

“You want to dance with all the fliers? Why don’t you stick to dancing on the ground with all of those people?” said Shoma pointing to the mass of creatures dancing together. Parties for magical creatures were interesting. People let loose knowing they could display everything without being ostracized, hunted down, or regulated.

“I can fly using magic if I need. They also have the enchanted platforms for those of us without wings. Besides, there are some real hotties up there,” said Sota.

“I can’t dance Sota, I have no coordination,” said Shoma.

“Yes you can, I’ve seen you fly,” said Sota tugging his arm. Shoma sighs and follows Sota up to the roof.

* * *

Yuzuru made his way through the crowd trying to find a place where he could cool off. Javier had immediately found a pretty elf to grind with so Yuzuru ditched him to dance with Nathan, Vincent, Boyang, and Mai. The group eventually decided that they needed to fill their stomachs so they bid Yuzuru goodbye and went downstairs. Yuzuru danced a bit with Maia and Alex before he got a little too sweaty for his liking. He had flitted his way through the crowd pausing to take make conversation with those who wanted to before finally finding a floating water station. He had worn his hair slicked back and allowed his kitsune ears and tail to poke out. Yuzuru with the help of Mirai and Maia managed to accentuate his features with magic. He decided to wear some of his more ornate armor, embedded with old fox magic something he now regretted. The ornate design was older and less lightweight but looked absolutely stunning. The way old magic worked was absolutely beautiful. Yuzuru sighed to himself, at least he looked good. There weren’t many opportunities to get dressed up and show off in this manner when you invent and train for a living.

“What is the famous Yuzuru Hanyu doing by the water cooler all alone?” asked Keiji.

“Keiji! You look great,” said Yuzuru, “I haven’t seen you in forever. I’m taking a break-- what are you doing by a water cooler with two full cups of water?”

“I got one for a friend but he decided to disappear up here so I came to find him and give him a piece of my mind,” said Keiji. Yuzuru laughed at that.

“You always take such good care of people,” said Yuzuru. He turned to face Keiji and his eyes widened as he caught the sight of Shoma’s trademark fairy-dragon hybrid wings. They had gained muscle and looked less like the frail newly forming wings Shoma had developing before he left. The translucent connective tissue glimmered in the sunlight almost as if enchanted by magic. Shoma’s face appeared quickly after as he pumped himself up in the air. Shoma looked stunning tonight, the armor clung to his body, highlighting his powerful build and the headpiece made him look like royalty. Yuzuru’s eyes widened, the magic surrounding him was his parents. He had truly grown up.

“What’s caught your eye?” asked Keiji as he turned around and looked up to see what Yuzuru was gaping at. Keiji caught sight of Shoma and laughed, “He’s really grown up now isn’t he?”

“Mhm,” said Yuzuru, “where is the cute Shoma that used to be all shy?”

“I don’t know he’s been replaced by an increasingly cheeky brat,” said Keiji affectionately, “we didn’t let him know you’d be here. We wanted to surprise him.” Yuzuru smiled mischievously at that.

* * *

“Shoma!” exclaimed Alina as she caught sight of Shoma flying upwards to join the mass of dancing bodies.

“Alina, it’s nice to see you, you look nice,” said Shoma. Alina’s tiger ears and tail were out and her wings flapped every so often to keep her airborne. Shoma could tell Evgenia had done her makeup by the spell work.

“Dance with me?” asked Alina. Shoma looked for Sota only to find him gone, Shoma shrugged, why not? He had already gone through the effort of dressing up and his wings were out. If he looked ridiculous Alina wouldn’t care.

“I’ll be bad,” warned Shoma.

“It’s okay, come and join us,” said Alina offering her hand to lead Shoma to Evgenia, Wakaba, and Satoko. Shoma joined in dancing with the girls, laughing with them and occasionally shouting the lyrics with them. They danced around having fun and Shoma was infinitely grateful to the girls for having him join them. He would’ve been stuck awkwardly by himself if Alina hadn’t asked for him to join. Shoma caught Sota making out with some attractive witch out of the corner of his eye and he just rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

The song turned more sensual and Shoma caught a spark in the girls’ eyes. They had spotted something or someone. Before Shoma can turn to see what they are looking at Satoko leaned in close to him, “Someone’s watching, let’s give them a show.”

“Wha—” before Shoma can ask Shoma’s hands are placed on Satoko’s waist. Alina’s hand is on his shoulder and Evgenia’s hand on the other, Wakaba is behind him and suddenly they all seemed to have agreed to grind on Shoma.

“Look ahead of you and bite your lip,” said Wakaba. Shoma trusted the girls enough to let them do as they like. He didn’t particularly care if they decided to grind on him and whoever was watching was definitely getting the show of their lives. Maybe it was Satoko’s ex or something. He had been used multiple times as revenge material for most, if not all of his female friends. It was something about how he was trustworthy unlike the other guys out there. Shoma didn’t really fall for people easily, he was picky and his heart was even pickier.

“Now turn to me and make eye contact for five seconds,” whispered Evgenia. Shoma obeyed her and then he feels Alina’s hand on his jaw turning his face to meet hers. She has a coy grin on her face and Shoma feels like he’s acting in some weird stage performance. Wakaba runs her hands down his back and Shoma feels a shiver go through his body, the gaze of whoever they were trying to attract was definitely on them now.

Satoko closed the distance between them to whisper something, “Look in the corner like there’s meat and you really want to eat it.” Shoma did his best to follow Satoko’s instructions and the next thing he knew Yuzuru Hanyu had replaced Satoko. The girls giggled and suddenly disappeared. Oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please assume that everyone is the same age.
> 
> Also, as always, I don't have a beta so I re-read and edit everything myself. (There will most likely be some errors.) Let me know what you think of this!
> 
> I made a [Tumblr](https://freedom-phoenix.tumblr.com), I don't really understand how it works so there's nothing there. But feel free to ask questions about all of my stuff (esp. my more confusing fics) and I'll answer them. They also don't have to be related to my fics, they can be things like what kind of music do you listen to or what's your favorite of Shoma's exhibition programs. I'll figure it out eventually, I promise, it won't be blank forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot building time. World building is harder than I remember. It's probably because I'm including a lot of characters and plot points.
> 
> I'm sorry I took so long, I started my summer internship. We work long hours that I'm not used to, but I love it. Also, life has been a little crazy, my summer was kind of lazy and then suddenly I had to do a lot of things.

Yuzuru was about to rejoin the crowd when he spotted Satoko grinding on Shoma. His eyebrow raised in surprise, he wasn’t aware they were a thing now. Yuzuru would surprise Shoma later, not wanting to disturb him. Maybe the young boy had really grown into a young man in his absence. Yuzuru knew he himself was different after leaving to train with Brian. He wouldn’t be surprised if Shoma was too.

Just as he’s about to fly off he caught Shoma biting his lip, staring in Yuzuru’s direction. Maybe Shoma saw him? Since when had Shoma tried to seduce someone, the little innocent boy was swiftly changing into a young man Yuzuru didn’t quite know where to place.

Yuzuru flew a little closer to see if his assessment was correct. Evgenia shared an intense gaze with Shoma before Shoma’s attention was stolen by Alina. Evgenia caught Yuzuru’s eye and winked. Before Yuzuru processed what the wink even meant, Wakaba hands ran down Shoma’s back. Shoma looked really good, his gaze looked intense, almost sexy. Now Yuzuru was even more intrigued. Since when had Shoma become attractive or anywhere near sexy. He had always leaned more towards adorable. Satoko leaned in close enough to kiss Shoma and Yuzuru found himself flying over. Satoko moved out of the way, patting Yuzuru’s shoulder as Yuzuru slid into her place.

“I didn’t know you had grown up this much while I was gone,” said Yuzuru, his own hands fluttered down to Shoma’s waist finding solid muscle instead of the soft pudge he was used to hugging. Yuzuru grinned as Shoma subconsciously leaned into his touch, cheeks red. So the girls planned this. Shoma would probably never do something like this on his own. His friend had really grown up observed Yuzuru as he took in Shoma’s features. Shoma’s jawline had sharpened and his cute baby fat had practically disappeared.

“It’s nice to see you Y-yuzuru,” stuttered out Shoma, the shock of seeing Yuzuru still settling in.

“It’s nice to see you too,” said Yuzuru with a genuine smile. Yuzuru was actually happy to see Shoma, he also couldn’t wait to see how much Shoma had developed as an inventor and fighter while he was gone. “When I left, your wings hadn’t even fully emerged yet and here you are already a young adult.”

“I’ve been training hard with Mihoko,” said Shoma, courteous as always to Mihoko.  

“I’m not only talking about that,” said Yuzuru allowing his eyes to roam Shoma’s body. Yuzuru watched as Shoma turned even redder and tried to look for a way out. “Fly with me,” said Yuzuru.

“Are you sure?” asked Shoma.

“Of course, you can showcase those magnificent wings,” said Yuzuru pumping his own wings up. Shoma followed suit, easily. Yuzuru remembered when Shoma used to struggle to keep up with him, his wings not yet developed enough. They extended beautifully now, fully grown and trained. They glided through the sky, making beautiful, lazy maneuvers with ease as Yuzuru leads.

Shoma’s eyes sharpen, his magical eyes working. Yuzuru can see Shoma’s tremendous power with his own magical pair of eyes. Shoma’s power was finally reaching the potential Yuzuru knew it would when he first met him. Shoma’s power pulsed around him in a controlled manner, no longer unsteady and sporadic. It didn’t scare or threaten Yuzuru, rather it comforted him. Shoma was reaching Yuzuru as he thought Shoma would. He had risen to the impossible standards that were created for him and most importantly the ones Shoma had created for himself.

Yuzuru allowed his eyes to engage in full, the large masses of magic from all the mythical beings streamed past him, background noise as he allowed himself to focus on Shoma’s power shining before him clearly. Shoma’s fairy magic and dragon magic were intertwined beautifully, no longer uneven from his initially biased training with only Daisuke. Yuzuru figured Mihoko had a major part to play in that. The woman could draw tremendous power from the goddess Amaterasu. Similar to how Brian could draw power from Gaia. They had to pay a price if they wished to do so—the shortening of their lifespan—but they had the ability to use powers similar to creation itself. He had heard that the woman could wield all three of the Imperial Regalia. It made sense she was able to teach Shoma control.

When Yuzuru was less experienced with sensing magic and first met Shoma, he thought the boy was a pure dragon. His dragon magic was overwhelmingly powerful and also very old. However, as soon as Yuzuru met eyes with the boy he knew they shared fairy blood. Yuzuru later learned that the old dragon magic surrounding him was a result of his upbringing, it was also the dragonstone he had carried on him at all times. Yuzuru wondered for a brief moment where exactly Shoma’s grandfather’s magic had gone, he couldn’t see it. It was odd for Shoma to not carry his grandfather’s dragonstone with him, or at least wear it.

Their fairy magic resonated for a brief moment and a delightful tingle coursed through their bodies. “You’re always impossibly powerful,” said Shoma. There was only awe in his voice. Yuzuru had found it adorable how Shoma had always looked up to him, now it gave him a slightly different rush.

“You have grown in leaps and bounds as well,” said Yuzuru. He wasn’t lying or trying to flatter the young man before him. His magic was very different now, Shoma’s entire being tingled with power similar to Yuzuru’s. “Where’s your grandfather’s magic?”

“Oh! I didn’t tell you I made something,” said Shoma.

“You made something? Don’t you always make things?” asked Yuzuru.

“Silly, I’m talking about my grandfather’s dragonstone,” said Shoma. “I programmed a dragon modeled after my grandfather,” said Shoma, pride in his voice. “He’s with Mao right now.”

“Is it sentient?” asked Yuzuru, impressed. It was difficult to utilize the magic of a dragonstone properly, to be able to convert it to power and give sentience to a mechanical dragon was something in its own league entirely.

“Mhm, Ni has a personality similar to my grandfather,” said Shoma.

“Is Ni the name of your dragon?” asked Yuzuru. Shoma nodded. “That’s impressive to have created an automated dragon Shoma.”

“Not really, you had already used fox-fire to power weapons and auto-fire them at a much younger age,” said Shoma. “Besides, people create sentient creatures all the time.”

“That’s different,” said Yuzuru, “I didn’t invent something so similar to life. I was always focused on reaching my goal, never pushing myself to explore anything beyond weapons of destruction. It’s impressive because you managed to utilize a volatile power and make it stable for long-term sustenance of sentience. Most people’s mechanical creatures run on biofuel and/or nuclear energy, but rarely on an inexhaustible source of magic.”

“That’s not at all true,” said Shoma. “You’ve invented so many functional things with unstable power yourself.”

“That’s only because of Brian’s influence,” said Yuzuru, “you have such limitless power but your first thought isn’t war. It’s life. Brian had to drill that into me.”

“I don’t know how useful that is in our current situation,” said Shoma.

Yuzuru drew in Shoma close, “It’s more useful than you think.”

“I hope so,” said Shoma quietly, Yuzuru could sense Shoma’s thoughts shifting elsewhere.

“What’s wrong?” asked Yuzuru.

“What do you mean?” asked Shoma.

“Your emotions are always visible to me,” said Yuzuru.

“Everyone always says I’m impossible to read,” said Shoma, “well except for Mihoko.”

“Well your magic is impeccably controlled, but if I didn’t know this face so well,” said Yuzuru poking Shoma’s cheek, “I wouldn’t know that something was wrong.”

Yuzuru could almost feel the weight Shoma was carrying as he sighed, “They’re thinking of having me change my fighting range, they don’t want me to do long-range anymore,” said Shoma.

“Are you joining mid-range?” asked Yuzuru. Yuzuru was a mid-range fighter, his wings weren’t as powerful as a dragon’s but they were still strong enough to allow him to attack mid-range, utilizing aerial and ground attacks. He was able to complete the more complex maneuvers that required tight movements. He was also able to cast fox-fire at a variety of distances with pinpoint accuracy.

“No, they want me at close-range,” said Shoma.

Yuzuru’s eyes widened, that didn’t make sense. Shoma could do mid-range if he trained the accuracy of his flight maneuvers; the translucent connective tissue from his fairy side would allow him better control. But there was no reason to have him fight close-range, it was a waste of his potential. “Why?”

“I’m not sure, I think they want to test my ability,” said Shoma. “But Mihoko thinks it’s because too many close-range fighters are dying and they want to test if a long-range fighter could double as both,” said Shoma.

“Isn’t that basically the purpose of mid-range fighting?” asked Yuzuru.

“That’s what I think too,” said Shoma. “But the interesting things is I’m banned from using my wings.”

“What do you mean?” asked Yuzuru, horrified. A magical creature’s wings were vital to their survival and were part of the reason they were so effective in the battlefield compared to humans.

“I guess they scare the close-range human fighters?” said Shoma.

“That’s ridiculous, they literally learn how to fly with synthetic wings and often train beside magical creatures with wings,” said Yuzuru.

“I know, but apparently we’re growing ‘too powerful’ so the government is pulling the leash tighter,” said Shoma. “We already aren’t allowed to have them out in public, I guess the battlefield is the next place they're going to take our rights away. Even if you fight for them."

“That’s dangerous for you,” said Yuzuru, worried.

“It’s okay, Mihoko has been drilling me with close-range fighting,” said Shoma. “I’ve focused on inventions that ease the transition to close-range fighting too.”

“You don’t like creating inventions for war though,” said Yuzuru softly.

“That’s why I wish sometimes I had the type of focus you did,” said Shoma. “They don’t need the life I like to create, they need fighting machines.”

Yuzuru looked at Shoma sadly, “I wish it didn’t have to be like this. I wish that we could allow our brains to think in other ways.” Yuzuru knew they both had brilliant minds that could do so many wonderful things for the world if it weren’t for the fact they were being funneled into the military.

“So do I,” said Shoma. “But let’s not talk about work. I haven’t seen you in so long, there’s so much to tell you. Update me on your life first.”

Yuzuru smiled, so Shoma did want to talk to him more, “Well I can’t spoil everything because you’ll see all my perfected inventions at the convention. But I’m sure you heard all the news of the shuffle to have Brian train them.”

“I have,” said Shoma. “It’s probably because of the way those trained under Brian have excellent magical skills.”

“Something like that,” said Yuzuru, “I’d like to think it’s me.” Shoma laughed at that, Yuzuru realized he had missed hearing that cute laugh.

“In the end, it doesn’t really matter too much who you train with or how good you are at magic. You just need to make it out alive,” said Shoma. “Or make enough money to buy your freedom from fighting.”

“Well we all know that’s a scam,” said Yuzuru. “We’ve probably earned enough money to buy our freedom ten times over through inventions alone but we’re considered useful in battle so they keep increasing the price for our freedom.”

“Humans are so curious,” said Shoma. “They fail to understand that we have no desire to fight invaders or harm humans, we just want to be able to live peacefully on some land. After all, humans are the ones who destroyed our homes. We didn’t destroy the Earth with nuclear bombs. We only fight because we want a safe place to live.”

“They just want to use us,” said Yuzuru. Shoma sighed sadly.

“Oh, I wanted to show you something,” said Shoma, Yuzuru could almost see the thought flashing through Shoma’s head as his eyes widened.

“You have something you want to show me?” asked Yuzuru, pleased the young man before him wanted to share something with him.

“Yes, if that’s okay with you,” said Shoma shyly.

“Of course, what is it?” asked Yuzuru.

“Are you free after the convention ends?” asked Shoma. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“I should be, I have a couple weeks here before we are deployed again,” said Yuzuru.

“Oh yeah, deployment is from here this time because they need us to clean up the mess with the foreign settlers that landed near here,” said Shoma.

“Ever since humans destroyed the planet all kinds of things keep visiting, looking to claim Earth as their own,” said Yuzuru. “We’re lucky that our technology has protected us from being detected so far. If any of our protective measures failed then we would be targeted immediately as settlements of living life forms.”

“But the Council of Earth’s Leaders protects us,” said Shoma mockingly, “by sending out other people to do the dirty work.”

“Stop it,” said Yuzuru laughing. “You’re going to get in trouble with the government if you keep making jokes like that.”

“They would never do anything to one of their best fighters,” said Shoma.

“You really did grow since I left, look at you all cocky now,” said Yuzuru.

“Not cocky, I just know the little value my life has is linked to my ability to fight,” said Shoma. “This will be the first time we’ve fought together in a while,” said Shoma.

“It will be,” said Yuzuru. “You used to be able to watch me since you were long-range, but you’ll be busy with close-range now. I guess I get to see how much you’ve improved,” said Yuzuru. “What does Keiji think of the switch? Did you irritate your technician?” Yuzuru and Shoma were both in charge of engaging in the primary combat, Javier and Keiji as technicians watched their partner’s backs and ensured their partner's tech was running as smooth as possible.

“Yeah, we were both frustrated. They notified us of the possibility of changing our positions extremely late and it isn’t even official. We have to completely rework our tactical maneuvers,” said Shoma.

“Wow look at you thinking about reworking tactical maneuvers for your partner,” said Yuzuru.

"Don't remind me," said Shoma, groaning. 

Yuzuru remembered watching young Shoma fight. They occasionally had practiced in the same area and he would watch with fascination as Shoma moved with such power and grace; there was something strikingly similar yet so clearly different about their styles of fighting. He remembered with amusement watching Shoma try to fight with a partner, he seemed to have lost all of his coordination. “I remember when we trained in tactical maneuvers you practiced everything yourself so you wouldn’t need a partner.”

“I quickly learned that no matter how good I was at doing everything I couldn’t be two people at once,” said Shoma.

“Wise words,” said Yuzuru. “You want to get something to eat?”

“Sure,” said Shoma.

“Are you still eating unhealthy amounts of meat?” asked Yuzuru.

“I’m half dragon, what do you expect?” asked Shoma.

“You aren’t pure though, most fairies like vegetables, like myself,” said Yuzuru.

“I’m not like most fairies,” said Shoma.

“Clearly,” said Yuzuru giggling. Shoma rolled his eyes and descended with Yuzuru.

“Have you said hello to your old friends yet?” asked Shoma. “Or have you completely forgotten about your old life?”

“I would never forget any of you,” said Yuzuru. “I’ve said hi to most of the people who arrived early, unlike a certain someone.”

“I arrive fashionably late,” said Shoma, “wait, everyone knew you were here and they didn’t tell me?”

“I was a surprise for you,” said Yuzuru. “What do you think?” Yuzuru half expects for Shoma to have a biting remark. The grown-up Shoma seemed to be able to hold his own when he got comfortable. Yuzuru could understand why Keiji thought Shoma was a “cheeky brat” now, he had become more comfortable speaking up for himself. Yuzuru always knew Shoma was funny but having dry-humor be apart of his arsenal, and not being afraid to use it was hilarious. He had such a cute face but such a sharp tongue.

“I’m really happy that I got to see you. I missed having you around,” said Shoma. He turned his eyes to Yuzuru and he swears that Shoma had casted a charm. The young man’s eyes were shining with pure happiness. Yuzuru could amost feel his heartbeat speeding up.

“I missed you too,” said Yuzuru softly.

“Yuzuru, can you come over here?” called out Javier, interrupting their moment. Yuzuru’s ears twitch and move to pinpoint Javier’s exact location.

“Not now Javi,” said Yuzuru, his tails twitching in irritation. He was having a good time with Shoma.

“Brian wants us,” said Javier.

“I’m so sorry, I wanted to eat with you,” said Yuzuru. He couldn’t ignore Brian no matter how much he wanted to talk to Shoma.

“It’s okay, duty calls,” said Shoma. “Can we meet after the convention?”

“Yes, yes,” said Yuzuru, “send me the details.”

“Got it,” said Shoma.

“Will you remember?” asked Yuzuru.

“Of course,” said Shoma tapping the chip installed in his arm, a calendar popped up, he tapped quickly, his eyes darted across the screen at a speed that would be almost painful to follow for the human eye. Yuzuru felt his hand vibrate to let him know he received a notification.

“Look at you actually using your devices for its intended purpose,” said Yuzuru.

“Don’t expect me to use this for its intended purpose,” said Shoma, “I only play games on it or reprogram the tracking to play around with the government.”

“I’m glad to see that hasn’t changed,” said Yuzuru.

“Yuzu, come on, Brian needs to talk to us before the big announcements,” said Javier. Javier was close enough to see as he surged up on a moving platform.

“Go Yuzuru, I’ll see you tomorrow anyway,” said Shoma. A devilish thought flashes across his mind, before Shoma can react he presses a kiss to his cheek. A tingle ran through their bodies at the contact.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Yuzuru waving. Shoma was bright red.

* * *

“I see that you met my surprise,” said Mihoko as she patted Shoma’s thigh. Shoma sat next to Mihoko, prepared for all the announcements.

“You can tell?” asked Shoma. Of course, Mihoko could tell, she had trained him since he was young.

“It’s the bright smile and glowing face, also Yuzuru’s magical signature all over your body, particularly your cheek,” said Mihoko.

“Our magic mixed that visibly? I can’t really tell,” said Shoma observing his own body, his eyes hyperfocus and he can see the faintest signature of Yuzuru’s magic.

“You didn’t even need to focus and you saw his magic,” said Shoma in awe.

“It’s not too difficult when I monitor your magic all day, I can recognize the subtle differences. Someone as powerful as Yuzuru, and the fact you two seemed to have synced for a moment is quite obvious,” said Mihoko.

“We synced?” asked Shoma.

“Your fairy magic did,” said Mihoko. “And actually, even the magic you don’t share resonated for a brief moment,” she observed, squinting slightly. “Anyway, enough about that, I take it you two were happy to see each other,” said Mihoko. Shoma nodded his head and Mihoko smiled.

“I wanted to give you some good news,” said Mihoko. “Before I told you the not so good news.”

“Is it bad news?” Shoma looked at Mihoko, worried.

“Not necessarily,” said Mihoko.

"What exactly does that mean?"

“You’re no longer fighting,” said Mihoko.

“At all?”

“At all,” confirmed Mihoko. “There was apparently a secret decision passed by the Council of Earth’s Leaders. Anyone with a ½ or more of blood from ‘vicious’ mythical beings is no longer allowed to fight. With your ½ of dragon blood, you won’t be seeing the battlefield anytime soon. Keiji being a ½ oni is not allowed to fight in the field either. The kitsune is still being considered from being banned. It’s entirely possible that Yuzuru will be banned from fighting in the next couple of days,” said Mihoko.

“I don’t really know how to feel,” said Shoma. On one hand, he was happy he would no longer have to fight, but on the other, he would be unemployed. “How will I pay for my freedom?”

“You can’t,” said Mihoko. “They plan to prevent ‘vicious’ creatures from ever being free.”

“But, I don’t want to harm anyone,” said Shoma, and he wanted to be free.

Mihoko patted Shoma’s thigh, “I know that you would never harm anyone, but humans have their bias. The best I can do to help you right now is to continue to train you,” said Mihoko.

“Am I allowed to?” asked Shoma.

“As of now, you are. There is obviously opposed to this ban from the military. They want mythical beings like you to fight,” said Mihoko. “However, with this decision, I will be given more time to train your magic in things other than fighting.”

“Really?” asked Shoma, excited.

“Of course, I’ll teach you how to truly use your magic, fighting is a very small part of true magic wielding. You can do so much more with magic then blast fire charms to destroy an enemy,” said Mihoko. “If you want me to, I can eventually teach you how to wield the Imperial Regalia.”

“Is that allowed?” asked Shoma.

“The government can no longer possess the Imperial Regalia. The head of Japan decided he would rather the Regalia be out of the Council of Earth Leader’s hands. He passed ownership to me,” said Mihoko. “I am allowed to pass it on to who I like, of course as long as I teach the importance and great responsibility that comes from using Amaterasu’s power.”

“Am I powerful enough to wield all three?” asked Shoma.

“You will need to be,” said Mihoko rather ominously. Shoma looked at Mihoko, confused before the speaker at the front interrupted them.

“Welcome everyone,” said the speaker at the front. “We have some announcements and general reminders for everyone tomorrow. First, for all of you who like to mess with your chip you need to stop for this event. The chip is your form of identification and they will be closely monitored. The security this year will be tighter than ever. Second of all, the convention will be divided as normal with flying sections and non-flying separated. As always, if you have inventions that fit into both, it is preferred your non-flying inventions stay with your flying inventions. Third, you need to have your permit loaded on your chip if you are using magic. Please check the list of restricted magic. Fourth for reminders, you need to have a registered inventor and mechanic present for your assigned section. They will no longer tolerate those who can double as both. Fifth thing, the entire Council of Earth’s Leaders will be present. Please be on your best behavior, we need the funding and support,” Shoma absorbed the important parts of the announcement and let the rest go over his head.

* * *

Mao sat curled up on the couch, cat tail wrapped around her body. Daisuke lay in the living room, in full dragon form. He was finally able to be in his dragon form, allowing his body to stretch and spread out a bit. It felt nice. “Must you really leave as soon as the convention ends?”

“As soon as I meet the head of Japan I must leave with him, it is no longer safe for us,” said Daisuke.

“Is the rumor true then, he has dragon blood?”

“He’s as much of a dragon as I am,” said Daisuke.

Mao’s eyes widened, “That’s impossible, I’ve never sensed any magic from him.”

“He gave up his dragonstone,” said Daisuke. “He has very little magic now, impossible to sense unless you posses dragon blood yourself.”

“I thought you have to die to give up your dragonstone,” said Mao.

“He did, in a way,” said Daisuke. “He had to die to give up the Imperial Regalia.”

* * *

“Shoma, can we talk?” asked Nathan pulling Shoma aside.

“Yeah, sure, let me just let Mihoko know I’ll be a while,” said Shoma, he was friendly with Nathan. They both bonded over their mutual dragon blood.

“I’ll meet you on the roof if that’s okay with you,” said Nathan.

“Yeah, sure,” said Shoma looking around for Mihoko’s magical presence. He made his way over to her before Brian started a conversation. Shoma sighed, he would have to be rude, he promised Mihoko he would give her a ride home. He wanted to talk to her for a little longer.

Shoma was able to catch part of their conversation as he drew near. “Is he ready?” asked Brian.

“He’s as ready as he can be,” said Mihoko. Shoma looked between the two of them, confused as to what they were discussing.

“Sorry, excuse me,” said Shoma, “Mihoko I’m going to meet with Nathan on the roof.”

“That’s fine. You don’t need to bring me home today, I’m going to discuss some things with Brian for tomorrow,” said Mihoko smiling gently.

“Oh, okay,” said Shoma, slightly dejected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will eventually post profiles and explain some important plot points on my Tumblr for those of you who would like to keep track of everything.


End file.
